Stress and anxiety can lead to problems sleeping for anyone, but the situation might be more serious for children who learn of their parents’ divorce. As a parent, you have to try to help them to work through the issues that they face so that they can get sufficient rest. Kids can’t function properly without enough sleep. Eventually, the lack of sleep might impact their immune systems and their abilities to learn.
Having a routine in place is one of the biggest ways that you can help your kids. They thrive with routines, so even if you have to change some aspects of the daily schedule, you should try to allow as much as possible to remain the same. Establishing a firm nighttime routine for younger kids can help them to wind down before it is time to go to sleep.
Some children experience anxiety over not being able to communicate freely with both parents. You and your ex can address this by keeping the lines of communication open for the children. Even something as simple as a goodnight phone call can help to ease a young child’s mind and help them to banish their anxiety so they can sleep.
You should also try to keep conflicts away from your children. While you are working out the terms of the parenting plan or trying to handle contentious matters, do this away from the children. The less they know about these matters, the more relaxed they might feel. Never use the kids as messengers between you and your ex because they might suffer from stress because of that adult duty.